The effects of garden lighting?

I came across this article in my local newspaper today and found it an interesting read.

 

Agreed very interesting. Where I live, withing a couple of hundred yards of Eltham Palace. It is never totally dark. Val and I would often return home in the small wee hours, from Hampshire. We'd often stand beside the car and listen to the plaintif song of a robin. Then the startled cry of a disturbed Blackbird. Casting a glance heavenward, and very few stars could be seen, due to the glow of street lighting. Just a couple of hours earlier. We had sat, wrapped in blankets etc, outside the caravan in the New Forest, watching the night sky. Many shooting stars were seen, meteor storms etc. I reall would love to visit somewhere,wher total darknes prevailed. Where I could look up and see all these stars, as so often shewn in TV programs. To stop, admire and say to myself in total wonderment. The Good book says, the creator knows each of these by name. WOW!!

 

We don't often have our garden lights on, so we're not adding to light polution, but the street lights in our road are very bright. The lamposts have changed over the last forty years with resultant increased illumination, from quite attractive "pebble dash" concrete, to taller steel ones with orange sodium lights. These too were changed a few years ago to very bright white lights. it'll all be about 'elf n' safety.
Of course we and many of our neighbours have PIR security lights, which passing cars set off, so that adds to the light level.
However, as we live on the inside of a "D" shaped crescent wth sizeable back gardens, the light level is low, so roosting birds etc., aren't disturbed.

 

I have a few solar lights but they are not much use at this time of year. We need them to light the path to the shed with the freezer in. In the summer when we don't need them they work perfectly.



G.

 

Visit the Isle of Man @Mike Allen. All street lights are out by 12.30am and there's very few of them anyway. I spent many a night on my back door step there, gazing at thousands of stars - absolutely wonderful!

 

Many thanks Sheal. When looking at creation around me. I truly, so often ask myself. Mike, little man that you are. Stop and ask yourself. Truly what a tiny speck on the universe you are. Truly sincere room for thought.

 

This is the view from a back bedroom window, my camera makes it look brighter than it really is, but you can see a faint glow over the top of the houses from other street lights.




Contrast that with the front of our house where it's bright enough for the kids to play football. Fortunately, "it's not that sort of neighbourhood." Well.. No families with football playing small kids.

 

I agree with you Mike. It puts everything into perspective.

 

The streetlights here have been replaced recently. It's now possible to see which colour bin everybody is putting out. The footpaths here aren't very good so I'm guessing somebody asked for the upgrade.

G.

 

We have an R sole that has a flood light that comes on out the back when a mouse moves, it got stuck on a few nights ago and was on for 36 hrs non stop.
Hope the electric bill cripples him.

I've got two floods but only use them on a switch if I go up the garden after dark.

Out front, usual street lighting, I can usually make out the plough, pole star, in the night sky, but other than that most stars are not visible.

I'll never forget seeing the stars in a place called Mesa Verde in Colorado, I've never seen so many stars, it was amazing.

 

That map looks horrible Armandii and a lot of those lights are unnecessary.